This week we are talking all about the alternative way parents can get top baby gear items and toys without committing to buying them. 

We spoke to Samantha Manheimer from Loop, a baby item rental company. Loop rents and delivers baby gear & toys by the month in NYC and the Bay Area. Every item in their selection arrives sanitized, packaging-free, and fully assembled. 

Ask an Expert: Rental options for top baby and kids’ items

We sat down with Samantha Manheimer, the Head of Member Experience and Operations at Loop. Loop is committed to delivering high-quality baby items to families while reducing clutter and promoting sustainability with its rent and return service. To learn more, check out Loop’s website, Instagram, or digital magazine.

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What is Loop and why was Loop created?

Loop is a convenient, sustainable, affordable, and clutter-free way to give your baby the best in a way that you can feel good about. Loop’s mission is to create a sharing economy that helps simplify parenting, build community, and reduce the impact of consumerism on the planet.

As parents, we knew that there had to be a more sustainable, convenient, and affordable way to raise a child. 

We all wanted the best for our babies, but we didn’t want to deal with all the stuff: researching, buying, reselling, storing, and returning all sorts of things we only needed for a few months. We didn’t love the clutter, cost, or waste. So we created Loop to help make parenting simpler and more enjoyable.

How does it work? 

When you become a member of Loop, you’re renting today’s best gear and toys for your child. Loop delivers pre-assembled, inspected, and cleaned items right to your doorstep.  We’ll bring you the items you want, you can enjoy them as long as you’d like, and then we’ll pick them up when you’re done. If you need something different, you can easily swap items. 

In doing so, Loop provides new parents with “second-child” confidence that comes from their own lived experiences. Our members love Loop because we give them the opportunity to try out new products without committing to them. They can test what works best for their family with the confidence that they are not adding clutter to their home or the landfill. 

How do you pick which items to feature? 

The Loop team consists of industry experts and parents with firsthand knowledge of what the best of the best items are in baby gear and toys. 

First and foremost, we choose items with safety in mind that adhere to all CPSC regulations. We pick items with non-toxic materials that are durable and hold up well to our cleaning and disinfecting protocols. We’re always vetting new items and love to hear from our members about what they want us to add to the Loop assortment.

What are your most popular items? 

We choose and offer sustainable products that foster children’s development. Our most popular items include products for safe sleep (e.g., 4Moms Mamaroo Sleep Bassinet), toys for toddler development and open-ended play (e.g., Lily& River Little Climber + Ladder Board), and strollers that suit your lifestyle (e.g., Thule Urban Glide 2 Jogging Stroller).

How important is your parent community as you continue to build and grow Loop? 

Our members love the idea of Loop and they want to adopt the sharing lifestyle. Our community is diverse and we have a range of perspectives, which helps us constantly improve Loop. Our parent community is extremely important; we would not be Loop without them! 

We recently re-branded and launched a new website with many improvements based on feedback from our members. We are always looking for ways to add value to our community and frequently host Livestreams on Instagram connecting our members with experts in the family and baby space. For example, just last month we partnered with a Doula and Lactation Consultant and chatted all things breastfeeding. 

Are most of your members looking to reduce their environmental impact? Or just not waste money on items their child will only use for a short time? 

Both. Reducing clutter and reducing environmental impact are the top two priorities of Loop members. We believe the world will be a better place as ownership is increasingly replaced with shared goods, and that’s meaningful to most of our members as well. Our members recognize that their individual use of the items we carry might be short-term, but the lifespan of the item is greater, making renting a sustainable option. 

We have heard from numerous parents that they find joy in knowing that an item their child loved will be loved by a new family, all while saving money! 

We know that Loop creates a digital magazine for their members, can you tell us more about that?

This Summer we launched our first-ever edition of LoopLife Magazine. We like to think of this magazine as a little added bonus for our members. This edition features product recommendations, expert advice from a sleep consultant, and ways to get involved with our Loop community by becoming an Ambassador. 

We are excited to give the Markid Community access to LoopLife as well. Be sure to check it out to learn more about Loop!

Thanks again to Samantha for speaking with us about Loop. To learn more, check out Loop’s website, Instagram, or digital magazine.